Hong Kong (AFP)
An employee of the British Consulate in Hong Kong, who has been missing since August 8, was arrested in China, his family said on Wednesday, saying the Hong Kong authorities had confirmed his arrest but said nothing more.
The British consulate refused Tuesday to make public the identity of his missing employee and reveal the circumstances of his disappearance.
His family, revealing his identity on Facebook, said Simon Cheng had traveled to Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, Hong Kong, on August 8, for a business meeting.
In the evening, Mr. Cheng headed back to Hong Kong aboard a high-speed train and exchanged messages with his companion at the time of passing the customs controls.
"We have lost contact with him since," the family said on Facebook.
The family said Hong Kong's immigration department, after consulting with the Shenzhen Municipal Bureau of Commerce, "told him orally that Simon was in administrative detention, but that they had not obtained more information on the reason, place and duration of his detention ".
She also indicated that she had not received any notice of administrative detention. Lawyers confirmed that Mr. Cheng's case was being handled by the Shenzhen Public Security Bureau but that they had failed to find out where he was.
"We feel helpless and worried about Simon," his family said in his Facebook post. "We hope that Simon will return to Hong Kong as soon as possible".
The British Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday it was "extremely concerned" by reports of the arrest in China of an employee of his consulate in Hong Kong.
Hong Kong police confirmed Tuesday the opening of an investigation into a case of disappearance on August 9.
A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman, Geng Shuang, said he was "not aware of this situation".
© 2019 AFP